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Thursday, July 27, 2017

Akkaravadisal - a traditional sweet treat

Akkaravadisal is a traditional Iyengar offering to the Gods. I have heard some of my friends speak longingly and in great detail of this dish. Though I have never tasted this dish or seen it made by anyone I know, the fervor with my friends spoke of it made me feel that I was missing out on something akin to the eighth wonder of the world. A little bit of Google-ing and some phone calls later, I came up with this recipe which is an adaptation of several recipes that can be found online. I felt that the dish is similar to sweet pongal, except for the fact that the rice is cooked in milk. This gives it a delicate creaminess that makes it appealing both in looks and taste. The basic recipe is very simple. Rice is cooked in milk and then jaggery syrup is added to this. Add-ons like cashews, raisins and cardamom can be mixed in, based on availability and personal preferences.What you need:
Rice - 1 cup
Yellow moong dal - 1 tbsp. (optional)
Water - 1/2 cup
Milk - 4 cups (Preferably full fat)

Wash the rice and dal (if using) well and soak in half a cup of water for at least 30 minutes. Transfer this to a large pressure cooker. Coarsely crush cardamom. Add it to the rice along with the milk and cook on a medium flame for two whistles.
In the meantime, take the jaggery in a pan. Add 1/4 cup of water to it and heat over a low flame until the jaggery dissolves completely. If there are impurities in the jaggery, you can strain it out at this point. Set aside.
When the pressure settles, mash the rice well. Add the melted jaggery to this and mix well.
Heat ghee in a pan and toast the cashews in it till reddish brown. Mix this into the akkaravadisal.
The mixture should be semi solid in nature. It thickens up quite a bit on cooling. While serving, if you find that it is too thick, you can loosen it up by adding some warm milk.